Airbag systems for use in motor vehicles are generally well-known in the art. Traditionally, such airbag systems have been used within motor vehicle interiors to mitigate and reduce occupant impacts with motor vehicle interior components and structures, such as steering wheels, dashboards, knee bolsters, side door panels, and body pillars.
The present disclosure, however, addresses the application of such airbag systems in combination with exterior motor vehicle components to manage and control motor vehicle impact events with external objects. In particular, the airbag system is adapted to manage and control an impact event to the front corner of the motor vehicle. That is, various testing protocols and standards are being and have been developed to address vehicle integrity in the event of such a collision. For example, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has adopted a new small offset frontal crash test, where the test objective is to manage and control damage and injuries resulting from actual motor vehicle impacts with stationary rigid poles (offset from the motor vehicle center of gravity and outside the main longitudinal rail), vehicle to vehicle collinear offset impacts (again, offset from the motor vehicle center of gravity), and vehicle to vehicle frontal oblique impacts. The IIHS test protocol involves the evaluation of such impacts against a rigid pole and currently envisions using a 25 percent overlap rigid barrier with a curved end simulating a 6-inch pole radius. The test impact velocity is 40 mph (64 kilometers per hour). The contemplated testing protocol is referred herein as the 40 mph Small Offset Rigid Barrier (“SORB”) impact test.
In view of the SORB test protocol, current front end structures are being evaluated to optimize vehicle performance in small offset pole impact events. Hence, solutions for mitigating SORB impacts would be advantageous.
The airbag assembly disclosed herein particularly accomplishes the foregoing optimization of vehicle performance by providing a deployable structure mounted to the front side rail of the vehicle behind the bumper. Upon vehicle impact with the SORB, a front bumper mounted sensor sends a signal to an electronic control unit or ECU. Once the signal is processed, the ECU activates a side rail mounted inflator deploying the airbag. The airbag design is configured such that the airbag will deploy in a triangular shape, preferably creating a 30 degree angle with the longitudinal axis of the side rail and the motor vehicle. The 30 degree angular end of the triangular deployed airbag is preferably closest to the front bumper system of the vehicle. This deployment configuration allows for the vehicle to generate a very high Y-force against the rigid barrier to propel the vehicle away from the barrier and thus redirect impact energy by lateral movement of the motor vehicle and thereby minimize vehicle intrusion.